Sunday, August 2, 2009

Note: Leave a comment below with your thoughts and your email address to have the script sent to you.

Genre: Fantasy/Super HeroPremise: Thor, son of the God Odin, is banished to Earth and has to harness the powers of the mighty axe Mjolnir if he wants to return to live among the Gods.Backstory: Based on the comic series, Marvel is adapting this version to coincide with their Avengers team-up film. Kenneth Branagh is directing. Chris Hemsworth (Pappa Kirk in this year's Star Trek) is set to play the iconic hero. Had to be written due to it's estimated budget being way to large.Writer: Mark Protosevich (First Draft, dated 4/4/07)

Director Kenneth Branagh alongside the hero in all his comic book glory

I gotta say it. I'm a sucker for a good superhero film. And when it comes to superhero films, Marvel knows how to make them. Their two projects last year, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk reboot set the ball in motion. And it's quickly snowballing into one of my most anticipated films of 2012: The Avengers. Over the next four years Marvel is promising superhero films that crossover with each other and end in a nerd heaven. And after their 2008 pics, I'm not gonna lie, that was the main reason I picked up this script. I was desperately searching through the pages for that Tony Stark or Nick Fury cameo. Unfortunately for me, this script dates back before snow even started falling. (Get what I did there?)

So let's jump right in. I'm not to familiar with this Marvel character. I'd seen him in action in the Ultimate Alliance video game, but I've played that maybe twice at the most. So I was going in fresh. We start off with Thor, his brother Loki, and their band of allies. Thor is the clear leader of this bunch. Just in the way he carries himself we know this guy means something. Then there's his scrawny brother Loki, who at first glance is basically that guy your father makes you include, but you wouldn't associate with if it wasn't for your blood. But there is an underlying respect for these two brothers. They do genuinely care for each other. Anyway, back to the story. So Thor and his buddies were sent by his father, Odin, to get some weapons from this group of gnomes. Well, plans go awry when they are attacked by...Hellstags? You know what? Screw it. I can't remember the names in this script, so bare with me. During the battle, Loki is seperated from the others and this lady, named Ran, notices a birthmark on Loki's chest that significes he's a Jotun. Jotuns are basically rivals to his entire race. Loki isn't just any Juton. He's heir to the Jotun thrown. Aka not good. Turns out Loki was found as a baby by Odin, who raised him as his own flesh and blood. So while this revelation is going on, Thor and his gang save the gnomes, and the Gnome King Ivaldi has to think of a way to repay him. there's only one logical solution. You guessed it! Make him a big 'ol battle axe he calls Mjolnir that grants it's bearer special gnome powers. Ivaldi warns Thor that the powers of the axe are very dangerous in the wrong hands, but Thor being the cocky man he is, wields that thing and and ends up killing one of his own men. Uh oh. There is an uproar against Thor, and Odin has no other choice but to banish his son from the God world and send him to earth and live with us mortals.

Chris Hemsworth is to play the iconic hero Thor

I think this is probably 40 pages worth of material and we don't even have a hint of what the full picture is yet. It's the story of two people's rise to to the top. Thor, who had everything, is now sent to the mortal world, left to fend for himself, and Loki, whose newfound information about his true identy is quickly eating away at him.

So Thor finds himself living among the mortals, basically acting as a slave. But it doesn't take long for him to finally catch a break. What are the gnomes to do with Mjolnir now that Thor was out of the picture? What would you do? Did you say have a giant competition between men from across the land to see which man was worthy enough to weild this magical gnome axe? Cause if you did, you'd be right. It's pretty clear to Thor this is his only option, so he enters this deadly competition to earn his axe back.

Meanwhile, Loki is quickly being filled with anger. Why would Odin not tell him who he really was all these years? Why was he living a lie. Soon we see him begin to stray from his godly path and a plan is set in motion. He has aligned with the Jotuns, and plans on wiping out the Asgardians. duh duh duh. I'm not gonna sit here and say I didn't see this coming, but I really wish Odin had at least done something to wrong Loki. Maybe favor Thor more. (haha. that rhymed.) But no. Loki turns to the dark side because he's adopted. Boo frickin' hoo.

So that's the jist of the story. Thor becoming the man meant to weild Mjolnir, and Loki becoming the man meant to...cause some problems? I don't know. Loki's pretty weak, but his alliance is pretty awesome. There's an awesome, epic, another synonym battle at the end that would have left audiences talking for weeks. If only Marvel had the balls to go through with it. I don't blame them. When's the last time a fantasy has been a hit at the box office? Lord of the Rings? There's a reason all the copycats that followed didn't turn a profit, and it's one important thing they lacked that this has. Quality. And boy does this thing have it. This is an absolute must read, and as long as the overall plot is there, it's a stand in line for hours type a film that I'm sure come 2011 is going to take the box office by storm.

Jeez, the final battle scene reads like it could run almost 30+ minutes by itself. Thor's flying felt a little cheesy, as did some of the more classic, romanticized 'hero' aspects, but what could I expect? If Martin Short isn't cast to the play Ivaldi, I refuse to see this movie. Hahaha.

Fantastic review - I was anticipating a lot less focus on Loki in the beginning, but he got a lot attention, which I thought I wouldn't like, but grew to like him the most. His character was so well developed. My fear is when making this they will hunker down too much into "fantasy" and potentially alienate viewers who want the raw power of a "superhero" movie. Thankfully, there are a ton of action sequences, but still I'm concerned.